Kin in the Game: PwC Family Business Survey 2010/11
We’ve talked to more than 1,600 family-business owners and managers in 35 countries in the course of completing our second global Family Business Survey – the largest of its kind ever to be conducted.
We wanted to find out how they’re coping with the economic downturn, what problems they’re facing and how they’re preparing for tomorrow.
The responses we received during this year’s Survey show that a more sombre mood prevails than in 2007, but most family firms are determined to keep up the struggle and some have fared very well, despite the recession.
Many of the entrepreneurs we questioned are keen to bequeath healthy businesses to their children, although they’re not all confident that their heirs will rise to the challenge. Some also stressed the importance of personal integrity and of making a contribution to society at large.
Of course, philanthropy’s only feasible when a company is successful – and commercial ambitions featured regularly in the feedback we received. But it’s obvious that many people attribute much of their companies’ resilience to the fact that they’re family firms.
